The Pendant
by samkay
Summary: Hermoine is given a necklace to protect and use for the good. Lord Voldemort has given Draco the task to retreiving the necklace and killing anyone in his path. Along the way, something neither expected comes into play.
1. Chapter 1:The Old Dumbledore

Chapter 1: Cornelius Dapper

I wonder what Professor Dapper wants with me, Albus Dumbledore thought to himself as he walked down the corridor leading to the headmaster's office.

Professor Dapper, the headmaster, had asked him to come to his office at dinner the night before, and as he was talking to Albus, he was peculiarly anxious and kept on looking around like he was being watched. It must be important, he had thought to himself as he looked at the professor.

Dumbledore walked briskly down the corridor, his long robes billowing silently behind him. He smirked as he though of this. Albus Dumbledore never got caught in the corridors at night. To his fellow classmates he was known as the Silent One. Besides, there wasn't much of a chance for him to be caught this time of night. All the teachers and students were asleep. The headmaster had told him this would happen. Dapper had put a sleeping spell on the castle. Even the plants were asleep.

He turned a corner and there in front of him was the stone gargoyle that led to Dapper's study.

"Silver Fox" he whispered.

The stone gargoyle swung open and Albus immediately ran up the stairs hoping with all hope that whatever Dapper had to say would not be bad. Dumbledore had enough to worry about with all that was going on. There had been some mysterious cases of first years going missing throughout the year. He frowned as he thought of that but took his mind off the disturbing thought once he opened the door to the headmaster's study.

Professor Dapper was facing the window, the pale moon shining in his sad face. Dumbledore had never seen the professor so worried. Up until now, he seemed chipper and jovial. Tonight in his study, he looked old and his face was lined with worry. He seemed in a trance. Dumbledore coughed and the Headmaster jumped in surprise.

"Oh. I didn't expect you so early. Come…come sit down…" Professor Dapper said warily. Dumbledore sat and looked at the headmaster patiently. He looked deep in thought.

After a long pause, Dumbledore spoke up. "Erm…what is it you wanted me for sir?"

"Oh that. Sorry I'm not my old self these days…Remember…at the beginning of your seven years at Hogwarts…when you were quiet and respectful and never got into any feuds…?" he asked, looking at Dumbledore for the first time since he walked in.

"Yes, as a matter of fact I do, sir."

"Then you remember that the first time you finally showed your true colors to the school and me at the end of 5th year when you battled and killed that dragon and saved the school…?"

"Yes, and I fully regret it." He said boldly.

Dapper gave him a puzzling expression and asked, "Why…?"

"I hate killing living things…I hate those who kill for pleasure…and for no reason at all…that is why I regret it," Albus said calmly.

At first Professor Dapper looked puzzled, then he laughed, his face lighting up for the first time since he had walked through the door, "I will never understand you Albus," then Dapper's expression changed and he looked away, "That is why I summoned you,"

"That's an odd reason to summon me…unless…there's something more to this conversation…" Albus said gravely.

"Yes I am afraid so," he smiled weakly. "There is something I want to give you…" And at that, the Professor pulled out a necklace.

Dumbledore gave the Professor a blank look. What was so special about this necklace? It was just an ordinary silver pendant on an ordinary silver chain.

Seeing his puzzled look, Dapper smiled and explained "I was given this by Godric Gryffindor. He told me to keep it safe, tell no one about it and only use it when the world is in great peril. Though he did not explain how to use it, I kept my word and now that I am old and about to die, I feel I have the right to pass it down to you."

"What does it do?" Dumbledore asked, still looking at the pendant.

"I frankly don't know, but I am going to give it to you and maybe it will work if you keep it. Do I have your word that you will keep it safe and never tell anybody about it and only use it when the world is in great peril?"

"You have my word. I will do whatever I can to keep it safe," said Dumbledore said meekly.

"And…?" Dapper said seriously.

"…And if I do use it, I will use it only when the world is in great peril," continued Dumbledore.

"And…?"

"I wont tell a soul,"

"Good, now if you will excuse me I have some work to do…" the headmaster went on, giving him the necklace and he let out a sigh of relief.

Dumbledore took the necklace and shoved it in his robe pocket. Then heard a worried voice behind him say, "Take care of it, Albus."

"I will" he replied.

As Dumbledore walked down the corridor leading to the Gryffindor common room, he pulled out the necklace and frowned. He wondered how it was supposed to work. Then a disturbing thought came to him, "I wonder what perils he was talking about and when they'll happen…" Albus said out loud to nobody in particular.

When he came to the portrait of the Fat Lady, he felt saddened. He could not cope with the idea that Dapper was going to die someday. He had always been a good headmaster and he never let greed get to him.

"Lemon drop…" he said thinking to himself.

"What are you doing out so late young man? You better not be…"she paused as she saw Albus waiting patiently, "…oh never mind Head Boy, sorry I asked."

"No I'm sorry my dear Fat Lady. I am rarely up this late but I had an urgent meeting with Professor Dapper,"

"Oh I hope it went well," she smiled tiredly and opened the portrait hole.

The common room was empty. He wasn't surprised; it was three o'clock in the morning. He walked up the stairs to the boy's dormitories. Still thinking about the necklace, he fell into a restless sleep filled with nightmares about darkness and a mysterious red staring eye.

The next day, Cornelius Dapper died in his sleep.


	2. Chapter 2: Draco's New Task

**A/N: So umm yeah it has been a while since I last posted, obviously. 8 months to be exact. Sorry for the inconvenience but I kinda had a couple of family and moving problems. SO I think you should read my awesome story since I spent my whole study hall going to the library every day and writing it; though this chapter wasn't my favourite cup of tea. **

**A/N #2: This is the updated version of this chapter, the original copy with a few revisions. Hope you like it!**

Draco Malfoy shivered with apprehension as he walked through the decaying door leading to the Dark Lord's study. This was the first time the Dark Lord had given him this big a task. He was going to be the Dark Lord's most loyal servant! He could redeem his family name at last! No more sinister looks of betrayal from the other Death Eaters. His hand reached out shakily to turn the doorknob. Quivering with excitement, he announced his presence.

"You summoned me, master?" his voice came out in a squeak, which suprised Draco.

The whole room was blanketed in darkness, but he could swear he heard the screeching sound of a swivel chair rotating to face him. He could see nothing but he could smell the stale, death like scent of the Dark Lord's evil presence.

"Sit," He sat. "Why do you think I would send for you?"

"I've been appointed a new task?"

"And what do you suppose this task is, young Malfoy?"

"I don't know sir." Was he supposed to know?

"No! You weren't supposed to know! If you did, we'd all be doomed! Now lock the door!"

Not surprised the Dark Lord knew what he was thinking, Draco shut the door with a simple spell.

"Now as I am about to tell you, you need to keep in mind that no one knows of this except me and the person who has it now and it shall stay that way with one exception, you.

"Your assignment is to retrieve a necklace. This is no ordinary necklace; with it, we are guaranteed to win the war. If we don't have it, then killing Harry Potter will be out of the question.

"The person who has it now is none other than Albus Dombledore. In order to get it from him, you need to be cautious. Don't let your guard down. Do whatever is possible to retrieve it from him, even if that means having to hurt someone, though if you have to resort to that, it is too late and its best if you don't come back," what he had left for eyes hardened, "You have in your hands the lives of you and your mother both. If you fail, you will be stripped of your magic, thus ruining your life, and your mother will die a slow, painful death. "

"If you succeed in doing this, you will be rewarded like no other. You will become my most loyal servant and what your father did will be forgotten."

Draco nodded, his hands shaking worse than they had before, "Yes, master," and was moving to rise from his chair when Voldemort spoke once more. He had to strain to hear what he was saying but he heard. "One more thing, young master; if Harry Potter gets in your way, you'll know what to do." Then he vanished.

As he sat, Draco thought of the past few minutes; this new task was going to be difficult, he thought to himself; especially since there was more at stake than just his pride; his mother's life was in his hands. Just thinking about it all made him tremble, not because it was cold, but because he truly knew that the Dark Lord would do that, and was deathly scared. "But think of the rewards…" he said aloud. "Most loyal, most…" he was excited at this point and jumped up. Now was the time for planning. It had to be in his office; Dumbledore wouldn't just carry around a necklace that powerful.

As he was thinking of places where it would be, he remembered one advantage he would have. Draco smirked and stepped outside into the cool, autumn air; he would be starting school soon. He walked to his broom, crunching colorful leaves that didn't seem so colorful in the thick fog, and mounted. As he shot to the sky he looked back; the Riddle house had gotten farther away and the town below it was getting smaller and smaller. He pointed his broom in the direction of Platform 9 ¾. Malfoy knew this was going to be hard, pleasing the Dark Lord, but he had his reputation at stake, and this was exactly the challenge he needed.


	3. Chapter 3: The Vision

**A/N: Its okay if you didn't understand this chapter, well no its not, but my friend didn't and I love it so hopefully you do. This was my favourite one to write so far.**

Hermione Granger woke with a start. She was sweating all over and breathing so hard she had fogged up her bedroom window. That was a difficult feat considering her room was half the size of the Gryffindor Common Room. Hermione also had a major head ache. She found that expectant considering she had spent most of last night skimming her new books (skimming being reading half of every book she got from Diagon Alley). She had had a dream but couldn't remember it. Although she knew it had something to do with Hogwarts.

She groaned and rubbed her aching head. She needed to find a potion that got rid of her headaches in an instant. The pain pills her mother gave her weren't working fast enough.

After slipping her slippers and robe on, she dragged her feet to the bathroom that connected with her room and jumped in the shower.

Hot, welcoming water washed over her hair, clearing her mind. She closed her eyes and smiled as she remembered she was supposed to catch the Hogwarts Express at an hour before noon. Memories of her last six years at that school came to her and she grinned even wider when she remembered her two best friends and how she was going to see them today. She couldn't wait to tell them she had gotten elected Head Girl!

But, with happiness, there's always a downfall. She had her smile wiped off as fast as it came when she thought of the one person whom she loathed the most: Draco Malfoy.

Her good memories spoiled, she showered as fast as she could and whipped her robe on. She stomped as quietly as she could back to her room hoping not to wake her mum but at the same time hoping the world would know how she felt about the ferret who called her a Mud…

She stopped in mid stomp when she saw who was sitting on her bed. It was none other than Draco Malfoy.

Or was it? She wasn't sure considering the mattress wasn't bending to his weight. She ran behind her dresser to cover herself. As Hermione looked closer, she saw an odd look on his face. She had never seen this look before. The look was that of fear.

He was cowering from something that was obscured by the dresser she was hiding behind. She peaked from behind the dresser to see who it was he was looking at. It was another Draco Malfoy! The only difference between this one and the one on her bed was this one had a look of pure evil on his face. He was shouting words she could not here to the other Malfoy. They appeared to be in an argument and the evil Draco was winning because his wicked expression became that of a satisfied one that she knew all too well. Oddly enough, the fearful Malfoy was getting less and less visible. Taken out of her trance by a shout in her subconscious, she shook her head and the Malfoys disappeared.

She stood, too stunned for words for the next two minutes in the middle of her room with only her robe to cover her. She noticed her half nakedness, dashed to her dresser, pulled out some clothes and ran to the bathroom so fast she nearly dropped all her clothes. She dressed quickly and quietly creaked her bedroom door open a crack and peeked inside

There was still no one in her room. She sighed in relief, shut the door and leaned her back against the wall as she sank to the floor. She rubbed her head once more. There must be an explanation for this, she thought to herself. It must have been the drugs her mother gave her. She knew she should have made her own pain killers. She found it entirely unlikely she was delusional. After all, Hogwarts had remedies that made crazy stressed out people become normal and relaxed. Plus Hermione Granger was not the type of person to hallucinate. She must have seen the holograms of Malfoy because she had been thinking about him so strongly. But, why was there two? And why was one fearful and the other angry? The fearful one was unlike Malfoy in so many ways.

As she was puzzling over the situation, she barely noticed her mother as she entered the bathroom. When she saw a slippered foot tapping on the floor, she looked up. Her mum stared at her with a look of annoyance.

"Why're you on the bathroom floor, missy?" she spat in her heavy Irish accent. "You're s'posed to be gettin' ready for school! The train leaves in an hour!"

"I was just thinking, mum," Hermione mumbled.

Her mom looked at her in a scrutinizing way, "You know, I think you think too much, Hermy. Too much thinking makes people mad."

"Thanks for the advice mum, but I really don't need your words of wisdom at the moment."

"If you say so, darling," She smiled with a look of pity in her eyes. And with that, she toddled away.

Hermione groaned as she pulled herself to her feet. Sometimes her mother could be a real pain in the arse, but most of the times she became like this, she was right. So, she decided she would be nothing but relaxed and happy for the rest of the day. She would rid her mind of all things Draco and flaunt her attitude like a strong perfume. Her mother was right, she did think too much. At the thought of her mother, a song came to mind.

She sang the tune to "Don't Worry, Be Happy" at the top of her lungs the whole time she was packing the remainder of her stuff and sang until her mother flicked her in the ear halfway to the station. The song played in her mind as she boarded the Hogwarts Express and checked the compartments for her good friends Harry and Ron. When she found them, she shot the door open, dropped her bags, and held her arms wide as she was greeted by the screams of happiness coming from each of her friends. Ginny, Luna and Neville were all in the compartment with Harry and Ron and she almost fell back as Ginny shot to the door and gave Hermione a hug to knock the breath out of anyone.

"Oh it's so great to see you, Hermy!" Ginny screeched as she jumped up and down, making her red hair look fiery.

"Yeah, it's been such a long time!" Harry said as he wrapped his arm around Ginny's waist and gave Hermione a hug.

Hermione grinned a mischievously as she saw this, "I'm guessing I missed a lot, huh? But that's going to have to wait 'cause Ron and I have to go to the Prefect's carriage to meet the new prefects and do patrols."

"We heard about the Head Girl deal. Dumbledore told us in his letter to us with the supply list," Ron said for the first time since she got here. He embraced her. "I guess he couldn't wait to tell us."

Hermione smiled at Ron in an appreciative way, "Well we best be going, everyone! See you in an hour!"

Ron and Hermione waved to them and they waved back. "See you!" they all said in unison. Well, all except Luna; she was absorbed in the new copy of the Quibbler.

As she walked ahead of Ron to the prefect's carriage, she couldn't help but notice his continuous impatient signs and coughs. Finally, she couldn't take it anymore.

"Ron, what are you doing?"

"Oh nothing, just coughing and sighing impatiently," he said bluntly.

"Well that's obvious, isn't it? And why?"

"Oh no particular reason, just cause," There was a pause, that included some more coughing, "No, no, I have to ask you a…" His stammering was broken off by a shrill laugh from behind.

"Ha! It's Muddy and Weasel! Together!" cackled Draco Malfoy. "I knew the blood traitor would eventually end up with the Mudblood herself!"

"Shut your trap, Malfoy!" Ron said icily.

"Yeah, what's with you spreading false rumors?" snapped Hermione, thinking back to the incident in her bedroom, "Don't you have more important things to do than aggravate us?"

"It's what I do, Mudblood, you should know that by now. Oh and to answer your second question, yes I do, more important things than you would even imagine! I can do anything I want now!"

"And why's that?" leered Ron.

"Because, Weasel, I have been personally elected Head Boy by the old oaf himself!" And with that, he shoved his way past Ron and Hermione laughing.

Both of them stood in silence for what they had just learned. Too shocked for words, Ron slapped himself to see if it was all real. Hermione finally broke the silence.

"You know, I really don't think he knows that I'm Head Girl…"

"That's all you can say? He doesn't…HERMIONE! What is wrong with you? Why are you so calm? Don't you realize that you're going to have to spend the whole year in the same dorm as that ferret?"

"Yes I do and I think that's an awesome idea!" grinned Hermione.

"You've really gone off your rocker, haven't you?"

"Maybe, maybe not. I find this a wonderful chance to finally get back at him once and for all!"

Exasperated, Ron nearly pulled his head out in frustration, "I admit you have a point there, but it's Malfoy!"

"Oh, get over it, Ron. I've handled things worse than him in my six years here."

Ron gave up. The summer did something to her. "Fine. Your funeral…"

"Thanks for your support, Ron." And with that, they continued to the prefects carriage; Hermione with a huge grin on her face and Ron with a bothered one.


	4. Chapter 4: The Maddening Surprise

**A/N: Sorry for my psychoness in this chapter, I kinda went overboard but again I'm writing this in a psycho school in study hall so the silence is getting to me. **

Draco Malfoy left the two with a smug look on his face. He smirked as he remembered their faces when they found out he, Draco Malfoy, was Head Boy. When he found out himself, he was also quite shocked that the old fart had actually chosen him to be Head Boy, but quickly got over it after realizing how much power he had now. He was going to have a personal room all to himself with a spa and everything! He wasn't going to have to share his room with two dumb oafs anymore. Though he thought Crabbe and Goyle were good bodyguards, they still were complete morons and to be rid of them would be heaven!

Oh and especially Pansy! She was starting to become a pain lately. Her good looks were shrouded by the things she had been doing lately. She was starting to become obsessive of Draco. She had visited him at least twenty times over the summer though she lived nearly fifty miles from his mansion. But that never stopped her; she spent all her parent's floo powder to visit Malfoy at the most improbable times. A lot of the times she came at night to cuddle with him and once she almost got him to have sex with her! Though she was EXTREMELY attractive, and it was PARTICULARILY tempting, she was the most annoying and clingy girl Draco had ever met in his life. Being rid of her would be bliss even if it were for just a short time.

He could not wait to be in the Head Dorm. Draco especially could not wait to see who the lucky girl was to be his Head Girl. Hopefully she's attractive, he thought to himself. Little did he know that the attractive Head Girl was right behind him…

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"WHAT??????" Malfoy screamed. He couldn't believe it! His Head Girl was none other than that Mudblood Hermione Granger. I mean sure, he thought to himself, she is the smartest girl he knew in his class, but she was a Mudblood! A Muggle-born! Plus she was far from attractive! Her bushy hair and bossy attitude made her even more annoying than she deserved to be! Even Pansy was hotter than her! This was absurd! He could not believe it! He would not believe it! "Why is it that I have to be stuck with this sad excuse for a witch?" he asked frustratingly, "And what are you smiling about?"

Hermione sat across from him in the Prefect's carriage. She had a smug look on her face. Why, he asked himself, was she smiling? Had she planned this? She must have been more enthusiastic about this than he was. He wondered why. Was it because she thought him attractive? Disgusting, was the one word that came to mind. No, she was more headstrong than that. He knew she hated him. Hermione constantly was the butt of his jokes. It was odd to see her so smug at a time like this.

"Oh, nothing…" she beamed roguishly. This was funnier than she had expected it would be.

Draco looked at her with the most revolted look he had ever given someone. Not even Wormtail deserved this kind of disgust. He turned to the Headmaster. Dumbledore was smiling also! Why????

"What is the logic of this?" he asked acutely.

Dumbledore smirked and answered "You'll see…" He vanished the next second. This time Hermione was confused, Dumbledore had actually planned this? But what was he supposed to gain from this, she wondered? Her grin turned into a puzzled look.

Draco saw this "So you and Dumblydork didn't plan this at all? It just happened? Figures. I have to be stuck with you for the last year of my schooling."

"I'm just as confused as you are, Malfoy," Hermione said bluntly

"Fuck off," and with that, Draco left them to go to his carriage.

Though he was supposed to be patrolling the aisles, Draco was too mad to do so. He stomped back to his compartment, slammed the sliding door open, startling his schoolmates, and slammed it shut, getting another wince from Blaise. He sat down and crossed his arms with such a malicious expression that if anyone stared at his eyes just then, that person would shrivel up into a raisin.

Blaise sighed. He knew better than to ask him what was wrong at times like these. Pansy was less fortunate. "What happened, Drakey?" Pansy asked in her high pitched irritating voice. Obviously she didn't know better.

By that time, Draco was already pulling all of his neatly gelled back hair out of his scalp to even notice. Why, he kept asking himself, did she have to be Head Girl? WHY???? WHY??? WHY???? He barely noticed Pansy poking him with her bony fingers and asking him what was wrong. He finally did when she slapped him so hard, he fell back against his seat.

"Why aren't you answering me, Drakey?" she whined, "What is wrong with you? You aren't usually like this!" She had that worried look in her face that always was vexing to Draco. He was so overtaken with shock at that moment in time. Pansy had never slapped him. She usually just bugged him until he gave in to her surreptitious ways.

He finally got over his shock enough to become infuriated. She had no right to slap him! "What is your problem?" he yelled. "I don't have to tell you every little thing that happens in my life, do I? I really don't believe you have to know why I am angry or what's wrong with me! God, Pansy! You are so flipping annoying! To think I have been your 'friend' for this long!" He stopped yelling to catch his breath. He never felt this light! His feelings about this woman were finally coming out! This was all because of that Mudblood, too. His anger turned into that of madness. He grinned wildly as he saw the whole compartment was staring at him with a look of horror. His eyes fell on Pansy. Her eyes were filled with tears and her worried look turned into that of fear. "Get out…" he breathed to Pansy. When she did not move he decided to enforce it a little bit. "GET OUT!"

She wiped her eyes with the back of her arm and stormed off. Right before she left the compartment, though, she made it her duty to turn around on her heel. "Draco Malfoy!" she croaked in between sobs, "If you are ever in need of any comfort, you know exactly where not to go!" and with that, she stormed off.

Malfoy gave her the finger and sighed; he was finally rid of the pest. He was happier than he had ever been in his life! He thought he should throw a party! He was so lost in his thoughts that he didn't even notice his friend's staring at him like he was crazy. "What?" he snapped at them.

"Nothing," they all said in unison and went right back to what they had been doing. Relieved, Malfoy took all of his bad thoughts from his mind and sat back in the comfort of his chair. The only thought that crossed his mind before he drifted off to sleep was that it would be way easier now that Pansy was gone to do his job for Voldemort.

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She felt so hurt! So wounded! Why had this happened to her! She thought Draco loved her! How foolish was she to believe that? Why had her Drakey yelled at her so? He never did that before! He was always so happy when she came over to his house during the summer. She had used all her floo powder just to see him! And what does that manipulative boy do? He screams at her for being concerned. She had a feeling she wasn't welcome as his friend anymore. She had been so open with her love to him that it was easier for him to stab her heart a hundred times over! She swore to herself that she would never be that open to anyone anymore!

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Pansy was so overtaken with grief and anger that she barely noticed who she ran into. It was none other than Ron Weasley.

"Shove off, blood traitor!" she said in between muffled sobs. "I don't need to see your ugly face right now."

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"Fine with me," Ron said, hoping to get as far away as possible from her. He started to rush away when he noticed her tone. She was crying! "No, wait! What's wrong?"

She stopped crying and gazed those green eyes into Ron's maroon ones with a look of hatred and betrayal, "Why should I tell you? You arrogant Gryffindors never seem to care about us Slytherins, especially those who associate with Draco Malfoy. Not that I do anymore…" Her composure wavered when she said that last sentence. She sniffed and started bawling again. Ron, immediately felt sorry for her. He usually wasn't this nice to Slytherins but some invisible force made him do what he did next.

Pansy was weeping so hard she barely noticed Ron put his arms around her. She just continued crying for the next couple minutes. Ron was surprised at what he did and what Pansy wasn't doing. He fully thought she was just going to push him away, but she was still crying.

Ron had spoken too soon. After a while Pansy noticed someone holding her and remembered her vow. She shoved him back, leaving a confused Weasley in her presence. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING?"

Ron was so taken aback that he had to rest his hand on the wall of the rolling train. One moment she was crying, the next she was freaking out! "You were crying… so I…I…" he sputtered. He had no idea what force compelled him to do that. She was a Slytherin! A Slytherin that is…well was if her story was correct…friends with his evil nemesis! He backed away. "I had this giant urge to get back at Malfoy for what he did to you! It was obviously a mistake considering what's happening right now," And at that, he walked back to the compartment with his friends.

Pansy stood with her mouth hanging wide open. So he actually did want to help her! That was odd considering Ron Weasley was never known to actually care what happened to most people, especially Slytherins.

She wondered what she was supposed to do next. Her only friends were Malfoy and his posse before he went mad on her. Pansy had a reputation for being a bitch at times and wasn't very proud of that at this moment. She wished she had tried harder to make more friends. She really didn't think Weasley or his friends would let her in their compartment considering he was also angry at her and the rest hated her anyways.

The train's whistle broke her out of her thoughts. She looked down at herself. It was a good thing she had gotten her robes on before Draco came back from the Prefect's Carriage. She decided she shouldn't worry about a train seat because she could see the school looming ahead and plus the Hogwarts Express was slowing to a stop. Now that problem was solved, she began thinking with whom she would sit with at dinner…


	5. Chapter 5: The Wonders of Sleep

**A/N: Ok so I figure this chapter is a bit more descriptive, but that's good, isn't it? Anyways, I hope you like it!**

The Feast went on as usual, starting with the big speech from the Sorting Hat, who talked about unity between Houses. Like that as going to happen, thought Hermione as she sat down next to her two best friends. The Sorting was next, annoying much of the Hall seeing as it lasted longer than usual because of one particular student taking a particularly long time. Eventually he got sorted into Gryffindor, whoever he was. Dumbledore spoke his few words of wisdom and the feast started; on the table appeared all the food they could think of and much more. The firsties gasped and dug in. Not surprised one bit, Ron attacked the chicken and squash and Harry started picking at the steak. Hermione was hungrier than she ever had been and took a lot more than she usually did; her plate was filled with bouillabaisse, chicken legs, all the veggies at the table, some sushi filled with shrimp, and five glasses of pumpkin juice. She never felt better! She was going to see her new Dorm! The only bad thing was the Malfoy problem. I would have to cross that bridge when it came, Hermione thought.

The conversations started; Neville and Dean talked about how they couldn't wait for Herbology to start again. Ron and Harry talked with a couple of sixth years on how exciting this year was going to be. Lavender and Parvati chatted about what boys they thought were cute and what boys they thought were hideous. Hermione got dragged into this conversation, unfortunately:

"Ooh, Hermione, I heard you and Draco are Head Couple and get to share a Dorm," said Lavender in that irritating voice. "That is going to be exciting don't you think?"

"Yeah you get to be with the hottest and most charming chap in the school for the whole school year!" added Parvati.

"Um, in case you two haven't noticed, he is not my favorite cup of tea. Nor am I to him, just to let you know." Hermione said simply. She couldn't understand why they were suggesting this; they knew she hated him with a deadly passion. Thinking the conversation was over she sipped her pumpkin juice.

Lavender retaliated, "Oh you must like him somewhat, I mean, he just dumped Pansy."

Hermione couldn't help herself; the contents of her drink sprayed out of her nose. The people in front of her screamed and stood up in shock, their fronts soaked in pumpkin juice. Students at Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw tables turned around at the sound of the screams. Pumpkin juice was dribbling from Hermione's chin but she didn't notice; Parkinson and Malfoy were done? That was new. I mean sure, she thought, Pansy is sort of obsessive, and Malfoy does get angered easily, but last year they were making out in the hallways in between classes so much, they were late to all of their classes except Snape's, of course. Hermione wiped her chin and stared at Lavender in shock, which slowly turned into laughter. The two friends, Harry and Ron and the remaining Gryffindor table stared at her like she was crazy as she cackled. This was brilliant! There was going to be so much drama this year! How exciting, she thought to herself, to be the one giving the jokes and not taking them! A voice deep down in her thought otherwise; she shouldn't make fun of him because of that. Karma can get back at you. But, she figured, she had enough good Karma to begin with.

"Are you okay, Hermione?" asked Ron anxiously.

She was brought out of her chain of thought at the sound of his voice. "Yes I'm fine. Cant a person have a good laugh once in a while?" the Gryffindor table sighed as she said this and went back to eating. The only people annoyed were those that she had sprayed; they gave her ugly looks and resumed eating. Hermione sighed, took out her wand and dried their robes. Their looks turned to that of apology as they thanked her. She smiled and resumed eating, that was enough excitement for one night.

Lavender and Parvati didn't think so; "So, judging by your reaction, you are happy they broke it, aren't you? Which means…"

Hermione held up her finger for silence, "…which means I'm going to love this year because I can finally be the giver and not the taker." They looked at her confused; she sighed, "I can finally make fun of him instead of him making fun of me; it's as simple as that."

They shook their heads and continued talking on how wonderful it would be to see if her (meaning Hermione) and Malfoy became an item. Hermione sighed impatiently and resumed eating; let them believe what they want to believe, she thought.

By the end of the feast, everyone was stuffed. Dumbledore gave his warnings to the first years and told the houses it was going to be friendly competition this year, but it didn't sound like he believed what he was saying. Hermione, Ron and Harry were stuffed and more tired then they had ever been in their lives. Hermione couldn't wait 'til she could sink into her new bed and fall asleep.

Finally, they were dismissed. Hermione and the Prefects were left to patrol the corridors. When all was said and done, they dragged their feet to their houses. Hermione followed the directions McGonagall had given her to the Head House; it was on the third floor. The corridor leading to it looked like the most beautiful architecture she had ever seen. The floor was covered in white marble and the walls were some sort of blood-red color that kind of freaked Hermione out but at the same time made her fascinated and drawn to the beauty of it all. The pillars continued every ten feet for about one hundred feet and they were made of deep blue marble also which made the whole thing seem like a flag. Lining the wall were portraits of knights and shaman from the old days and the occasional samurai fought hand to hand combat with one of the knights.

When Hermione reached the end of the corridor, there was a portrait twice the size of a normal heighted person and four times as wide as a normal widthed person. The portrait was that of a Queen and King from centuries past; she believed it was Queen Catherine and King Henry VIII. They were very much annoyed with each other and Hermione knew her history enough to say that they had a fairly good reason for not paying attention to each other. While thinking of this, they gazed at her with eyes of boredom and asked for the password.

Hermione had gotten the password when she got her letter in the mail that said she was Head Girl, "behead," she sighed as she thought how in the world they thought of these passwords.  
The portrait opened to the most spacious room she had ever seen. It was of course smaller than the Gryffindor Common Room but that was only because this common room was meant for only two people. Wood flooring was spread across the room with beautiful rugs covering the wood where furniture was placed. There was a walk-in fireplace to her left with two couches; a love seat and a recliner. The other side of the room had two oak tables that she suspected were for studying. The door leading to a room she suspected to be hers was on the right side; hers because of the moon that was hovering over it. She knew her mythology enough to figure that out. In the middle of it all was a French Door that lead to a huge balcony; the night sky gleamed at her through the glass.

Hermione wasn't much in the mood for exploring the rest so she dragged her feet to her door and pushed it open. She didn't realize she was gaping until a couple minutes later; her room was even more beautiful than all the rest of the dorm. The bed looked so soft in the light of the moon that shined through her six-by-our foot window with a window seat. She jumped lightly onto her new king size bed and sighed as she sank into the feather-light pillows and blankets.

Feeling like she was about to fall asleep, she decided to get ready for her wonderful night of comfort. She opened her trunk, which looked unsightly compared to the rest of the room, and began unpacking her clothes into the oak dresser behind her until she found her nightgown. She glided into the bathroom and stopped to stare in wonder at her new Jacuzzi. Screeching like a little girl who just got a new doll house, she stripped and sank into the foamy bath. This was the life, she thought, and sank into the bubbles out of sight.

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Malfoy felt slightly better considering he was never going to speak to Parkinson again. The feast was also better considering she wasn't there. He ate with no interruptions and talked with his friends without even hearing a peep from her. This was the life, he thought. After Dumbly's speech, he decided he wasn't going to go to his Dorm right away; that Granger might be there. So instead, he decided to have a head start on his new task. The first think he needed to do was actually think of a way to sneak into the old oaf's office without the damn portraits knowing. So, with his mind set on his plan, he rushed to the library. He was pretty sure he could find a spell that could momentarily blank their memories.

As he was walking down the corridor, he ran into Blaise. "Hey, how is it going? Have you been to your new Dorm yet?"

Draco hadn't told him yet about the Mudblood situation so he just shrugged, "I need do finish some things with Snape and go to the library for a spell, plus I'm kinda tired"

"Really, I kinda figured that, what with Hermione Granger being the Head Girl. Trying to find a spell to make her disappear, aren't you?" Blaise was grinning mischievously.

Draco figured Blaise heard from some dopes about the situation but he wasn't the most annoying to be with; so he decided he could talk for a little while, but not too long "Yeah, I wish I could. That would be the best day of my life."

Blaise snickered, "Hey, dya want to go to a party were throwing in the common room after the errands? I figured you'd wanna loosen up what with Pansy n' all."

Draco pinched in between his eyes feeling drained, maybe talking wasn't such a good idea, "Blaise, it's pretty rare for me to be like this, but I'm exhausted. I really need to do some Head Boy crap that Snape told me to do, and then it's straight to the sack for me."

"That's okay, man, you better get some sleep. It's a big day tomorrow." Blaise winked and walked back to the Slytherin Dorm.

"Yeah, Right" Draco actually felt pretty tried. His limbs were getting pretty weak. He decided he was going to go to the Head House. This was too much. He didn't care whether She was there or not; he needed some sleep. A voice inside his head was telling him otherwise, but he didn't listen.

By the time he got to the Common Room, he was so exhausted he went to sleep on the love seat next to the roaring fireplace.


	6. Chapter 6: The Prophecy

**A/N: Hello, Alls. This chapter is pretty short but I hope you like it anyway. I thank you all for the comments, its nice to have people reading my stories and not laughing 'cause I'm a Harry Potter freak.**

Hermione woke, but didn't get up right away. Her face was buried in feathery blankets and felt more rejuvenated than she had ever felt. Last night's bath had felt good too; the jets were like a massage. She sighed impatiently when she remembered she was supposed to get up for class and whipped the blankets off of herself, immediately regretting it.

The sun shone thorough her window like a blast of white light. Hermione winced. As she adjusted her eyes to the light, she began to notice the view she had of the grounds. She was staring at the black lake with the sun reflecting off of it. It was the most beautiful sight she had ever seen. The mountains seemed so small from up here, she thought. She opened up her window and breathed in the crisp fall air. Winter was coming soon.

Hermione remembered yet again class started in a couple of hours and tore her eyes from the view. As she dressed, she remembered who her roommate was; a scowl crept across her face. She needed to get out of the common room as fast as she could without having to see him so she hurried her pace, grabbed her stuff and rushed out of her room. She was heading towards the portrait hole when she saw something on the couch. She inched closer and saw it was Malfoy. He was sleeping with his robes on and wrinkled and his arm covering his eyes with his mouth open. Hermione had the notion that he had gone drinking with his buddies in the Slytherin dorm the night before, though she smelled no alcohol in his breath. She looked at the clock and decided it wouldn't hurt if he was late for his first class on the first day of school.

She conjured sleeping dust out of thin air and put just enough on him to have him sleeping like a baby for a couple of hours. Hermione smirked with satisfaction and walked to the Great Hall. But before she got there, she ran into the first year she saw last night who had taken a long time to get sorted.

"Excuse me, ma'am, but The Headmaster wants to see you," he said in his slightly Irish accent. Hermione couldn't help but giggle, he looked so proud to be running errands for Dumbledore. His chest was all puffed up and everything. "Thanks, erm…I didn't catch your name…?"

"The name's Robbie, ma'am,"

"Short for Robert I presume?"

He grimaced at the sound of his real name, "Yes, unfortunately"

"I will be sure to call you Robbie then," His frown turned into a smile. Hermione beamed. "Well, thank you, Robbie. Have a fantastic first day,"

"I will, Miss Hermione Granger," he beamed back, and scurried off.

She rerouted herself to go to Dumbledore's office, then remembering she didn't have his password, she cursed herself, but went on anyway. Why would Dumbledore not give her a note? Robbie might've forgotten, she thought. Or maybe he wouldn't be in his office…

Hermione turned the last corner to his office and stopped; he WASN'T in his office after all. He was standing in front of the stone gargoyle peering at her through his spectacles. He grinned wildly when he saw her. They embraced like a father to a daughter. All these years of dark encounters had gotten the headmaster and student closer.

"Hello, Hermione. How are you?"

"I'm wonderful, and you?

"Absolutely superb!" Dumbledore grinned with a toothy smile. "I knew you would be too after I named you Head Girl."

Hermione frowned, "About that, why did you name Malfoy Head Boy when you know I hate him?"

"Now, now, Hermione. It doesn't have to do with weather or not you like him, it's the intelligence and how much I think he can be a good leader. You also know more than I do that Draco is the second smartest person in his grade."

"A good leader?! Are you absolutely serious? He has first years trailing after him and asking him if he would like a crumpet or not! That's some leadership! And I'm not saying anything about his intelligence. He's as smart as a coot trying to get out of a trap when all you have to do is let go of the food!" But as she was saying this she knew he was right. He got Outstandings in all his classes in 6th year except for two A's.

Dumbledore gave her a stern look. She sighed impatiently, "Well I suppose you must have a plan if you're doing this. After all, you are the wisest of them all."

"Stop flattering me," he said with a grin, "Back to business. I need to show you something."

Dumbledore led her to the 7th floor. Something looked familiar here, she thought to herself. At the last corner, she immediately remembered.

"We're going to the Room of Requirement?"

"Yes, very good, Miss Granger. I have something to give you."

"What?"

He shushed her and started pacing in front of the wall that led to the Room of Requirement. The Professor chanted something she couldn't hear and a door appeared. He turned the doorknob and walked into a dark corridor. There were eerie green bulbs of light floating in the air above her. She stared to touch one of them when Dumbledore hissed. "Don't touch them! They will erase your memory. They were put here so if people actually did find this place, and got curious, they would forget why they were here and turn back."

Hermione pulled her hand back and didn't touch anything else for the rest of their walk. Dumbledore was pointing at certain things and explaining what they could do and why they were there. Apparently, people who got past the bulbs, the cave of sleeping werewolves, the thin, brittle bridge 1000 feet above a pool of hot lava and fiery creatures that scared Hermione to death, would eventually hit a huge steel-like door that, if you had the correct voice that obviously wasn't tampered with, blood type, fingerprints that were off an actual living hand and the right wand then the door would open to reveal a smallish room. Dumbledore had all of those, of course, and could open the door. By the time they reached the room, Hermione was gaping with the wonder and horror of it all. All the rooms seemed so extraordinary! Dumbledore opened the door and Hermione was surprised to find that this room was unusually bleak. There was only one thing in the room; a pillar with a tiny object on top of it; a Pensive. It was a pretty odd thing to have so much security, thought Hermione. Dumbledore began to approach the pillar, so she followed. He pulled out a fragment of memory from his scalp and placed in into the basin. He then looked for a long time in it, chanting as he went a spell that was in a tongue she had never heard spoken before. Without hesitating, he shoved his hand into the basin and pulled out a necklace. He held it out to Hermione. At this point she was extremely confused and baffled.

"There is a long story that comes with this necklace. It was passed to me by my Headmaster when I was your age. There is more to it than just a necklace. The previous Headmaster gave it to me because he thought I would be able to get it to work. I dared not use it for fear of it taking control of me.

"This necklace is no ordinary necklace; the pendant holds great power, though I haven't been able to use it. I am putting my confidence in you to use it for good."

Hermione had a bunch of questions but only two seemed worthy enough. "How do you know it's powerful if you haven't seen it used?"

"There's a prophecy,"

"There's always a prophecy,"

"It basically says that only one person can wield the pendant's power and that person is the one whom the headmaster of Hogwarts deems worthy of that burden. Professor Dapper naturally chose me, for he was once a Gryffindor. You see, the person who made the pendant was none other than Godric Gryffindor, so, as you would expect, the Headmaster would chose a Gryffindor. I thought I would broaden my horizons a bit in the House department but I could not find anyone more worthy than you so here you go!" at that, he gave the jewel to Hermione.

She stared in amazement at the necklace in her hand. It was just an ordinary thing; a tiny smallish diamonds surrounded a tiny ruby on a gold chain. It didn't look very powerful to the eye but when touched, Hermione could feel the power flowing through her fingers, and it scared her.

She still had one more question, it was partially answered but that didn't explain much. "Why me?"

"I thought I just explained why,"

"That wasn't much of an explanation, why me? Why not Harry? He's the one who needs it the most? Why not give it to him? What…" she was stammering and didn't stop 'til Dumbledore put a finger to her lips and smiled. His kind smile did not reassure her though.

"There's a simple explanation, Hermione. Harry wouldn't know what to do with it. He's just a boy. He's already got too much on his shoulders at the moment; what with the other prophecy and all."

Somehow, this simple answer gave back her confidence. She relaxed and drifted her eyes back to the pendant. It shone in the dim light, making reflections on the cave walls. She smiled and put it on, covering it with the neck of her robes. Dumbledore smiled a tired smile and also relaxed. He looked much older to her at that moment, but that didn't bother her.

"Let's go back, shall we?"

"We shall, you mustn't be late for your first day of school!" replied Dumbledore cheerfully. And with that, they turned and ambled out the room and past the obstacles.


End file.
